Paana

Paanbhai: The Silent Voice of Bhakti's Inner Radiance

In the rich landscape of India’s devotional traditions, certain voices echo not from grand temples or royal courts, but from verandahs, village squares, and the silent corners of women's lives. One such luminous yet often-overlooked voice is that of Paanbhai, a mystic poet from Gujarat who sang of the Divine not with pomp, but with the quiet power of surrender and awakening.

A Forgotten Mystic

Little is historically known about Paanbhai, not unlike many female poets of the Nirgun Bhakti tradition, where the formless God is celebrated beyond ritual, caste, or orthodoxy. She is believed to have lived in Gujarat and was likely connected to the spiritual streams that were influenced by Kabir, Dadu, and other saint-poets who emphasized inner realization over outer show.

Paanbhai's poems, or padas, emerge from a woman’s gaze — deeply intuitive, personal, and yet universally resonant. They were preserved not through manuscripts but through oral tradition, sung generation after generation by village women, bhajan mandalis, and now, artists like Shabnam Virmani, who have brought them into the contemporary space.

One of Paanbhai’s most evocative verses begins:

"વિજળીના રમકારા મોટીડા પરોઢો પાનભાઈ,

નહીતર અંધારું અંધારું થશે જી..."

“The lightning’s crack heralds the pearl-like dawn, O Paanbhai,

Otherwise, only darkness would have prevailed…”

In this verse, the lightning represents a flash of divine grace — a brief but powerful illumination in the soul’s long night. The dawn is not just morning, but moksha, awakening. Paanbhai warns that without this spark of realization, life will remain steeped in spiritual darkness.

Her bhajans often carry this subtle wisdom — an invitation to recognize the divine not in form, but in insight, in the dharma of love, and the simplicity of presence.

Woman, Devotee, Poet

Paanbhai represents an important lineage of female bhakti poets — along with Mirabai in the Vaishnava stream and Bahinabai in the Varkari tradition — who spoke boldly from within their domestic lives. For her, daily devotion wasn't confined to rituals but lived through songs shared with daughters, daughters-in-law, and the community, keeping alive a sacred rhythm in the very heart of ordinary life.

A Living Tradition

Today, singers like Shabnam Virmani, through platforms like the Kabir Project, help revive Paanbhai’s poetry — not as museum pieces but as living, breathing truths. In verandahs lit with soft lamps, under neem trees, in intimate gatherings, Paanbhai’s songs continue to light dawns in many souls.

Her poetry is not about escape from life but deeper entry into it — with clarity, devotion, and wonder.

1. પાનભાઈ કહે, ‘પ્રેમનો રસ્તો કાંટાળો,

અહીં ચાલે તે જ હ્રદય ધરાવે.’

Paanbhai says, "The path of love is thorny,

Only those with true hearts can walk it."

This echoes the Bhakti and Sufi understanding of love — not as comfort, but as fire. Paanbhai emphasizes that true devotion is not sentimental; it requires courage, endurance, and surrender. Like Kabir’s path of love, it strips the ego bare.

2. દાસી બની રહી ઊભી દ્વારે

પ્રભુ આપો તો લખ્યું નહીં હારે.'

"I stand at Your door as a humble servant,

If You choose to give, no fate can deny it."

Here, Paanbhai speaks with total humility. She surrenders to the divine will, yet holds a deep faith — that what is truly given by the Divine cannot be taken away by destiny or misfortune. It’s a powerful blend of surrender and silent confidence.

3. **'નરી નજરે જોઉં તો ન મળે,

અંખી મીંચું તો દેખાય જી.'**

"With open eyes, I do not find Him,

But when I close them, He appears."

This couplet reveals the inner turn that mystics always point toward. The Divine, says Paanbhai, is not to be found through outward sight or sensory pursuit. He dwells within — to be seen with the eyes of the soul, in stillness, in silence.

These verses bring out the essence of Paanbhai’s inner world: one of simplicity, truth, and fierce devotion, carried forward by women and communities that honored the formless, unnameable divine — not in temples, but in the everyday song.